Garbage can rack



Oct. 4, 1966 R. M. RossER 3,276,733

GARBAGE CAN RACK Filed Aug. 4, 1965 Rufus M. Rosser IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent O 3,276,733 GARBAGE CAN RACK Rufus M. Rosser, 218 11th Ave., Atmore, Ala. Filed Aug. 4, 1965, Ser. N0. 477,159

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-146) This invention relates generally to container supports and more specifically to a rack for supporting garbage cans in upright position.

Various supports for containers such as garbage cans or the like have been devised and made available for use. However, these prior devices have proved to be generally unsatisfactory in that they do not provide means for retainin-g the cans in the support nor do they prevent the .top from being either accidentally or purposely knocked off the can while it is in the support.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a supporting rack for trash cans, .garbage cans or the like in which the cans may Ibe maintained in upright position and secured in place and which minimizes the likelihood and `the danger of the can top bein knocked olf.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a container support which holds the container secured in upright position and which is in turn fas-tened to the ground.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a container support which is light of weight, sturdy of construction and economical to manufacture.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container support havin-g novel container locking means therein for releasably locking the container in the support.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the support c-omprising the presen-t invention with a container such as a garbage can in place therein;

FIGUR-E 2 is an elevational View of the container support comprising the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the conta-incr support; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 4 4 of FIG- URE 2.

Referring now and more specifically to the drawings and particularly to FIGURE l, reference numeral l designates the .container support of the present invention. The container support 10` comprises a plurality of ring members, including the top ring 12, intermediate ring 14 and bottom ring 16. These rings are generally lcircular and preferably manufactured of aluminum pipe or any other lightweight yet substantially sturdy material.

As illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 3, .the ythree rings 12, 14 and `1'6 are maintained in generally concentric yrelationship each `to :the other by the legs 118, 20, 22 and 24, which legs are connected Ito the rings at generally equally spaced points about the` periphery there-of. These legs are also preferably constructed of aluminum pipe material or the like in order to make the :container support lightweight :in construction, yet rigid and durable.

The rings 12, 14 and 16 each have depressed portions 26 in the inner walls thereof at equally spaced intervals thereabout lto receive the coacting legs 18, 20, 22 and 24. Thus, by viewing FIGURE 4 it may be seen that the depressed portions 26 conformingly correspond yto the outer cylindrical configuration of the legs thereby providing a ice tight recessed lit for the .legs against the rings. The legs are fastened to .the rings by Ialuminum rivets 28', which rivets extend through the rings .at each depressed portion 26 and through the legs lin order to securely fasten the legs to the rings. The rivets 28 include outer rounded heads 30y and -inner flattened heads 32 for retaining the legs against the rings. The rounded heads `30` provide a smooth surface and thereby prevent the possibility of injury due to scraping against the protruding rivets. The heads 32 -are flattened to limit the protr-usion thereof toward the inside of the support, and provide a hat, smooth contact surface lfor the garbage can or container when it is placed in the support.

The rings 12, 14 and 16 a-re of decreasing diameter, the bottom ring 16 being the smallest in diameter. Thus, it is apparent that the container support r10 .is substantial ly in the configura-tion of an inverted truncated cone with t-he smaller diameter ring at the bottom. This configuration is especially 'adapted to receive a garbage can such as garbage can 34 which is tapered downwardly from a larger diameter top portion to a smaller diameter bottom portion. Thus, `by viewing FIGURE 1 it may be appreciated that the .garbage can v34, when placed in a container support 10i, sli-des downwardly through and into the support until it reaches a point where the diameter ofthe can is equal to the diameter of the support, `at which point further movement of ythe can downwardly in the support will be stopped. The flattened head portions 32 of rivets 28 provide a contact surface for the can in its at rest position in the support.

Tlhe support 10` is further designed so that a can 34, when in its lowenmost or supported position in the supp-ort, will have its top positioned somewhat below the upper portions 36 of the legs. Referring again to IFIGURE l, it will be seen that `the can y34 has a `removable top 38 including a handle portion 40. The Ilegs 18, 20, 22 and 24 of the container support l10` each has 'the aforementioned projecting portion 36 extending above the top ring 12 4a 'limited distance, and hence when the can is in place in the support the top 38 may be removed only by lifting it vertically off the can 34 by the handle 40. It i's therefore apparent that the top 38 may not be accidentally knocked olf of the can 34 when it is in position in the container support. However, insofar as the legs of the support are divergent upwardly, there is adequate room for 'the top 38 to be lifted upwardly off of the can.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 3, it may be seen that the top ring 12 embodies substantially U-shaped outwardly projecting integral portions or ears 42 and 44. These ear portions are formed in diametrically opposed portions of the top ring 12, so as to aptly accommodate the opposed side handles 46 of the can 34. Thus, it will be appreciated that the can 34 may be positioned -telescopingly in the container support 10 only when handles 46 are aligned with ears 42 and 44 inasumch as the diameter of the top ring 12 is otherwise too smal-l to allow the handles 46 to bypass the ring. After the can 34 is moved downwardly into the container support 10', with handles 46 passing through the projecting ears, the can 34 may be rotated in the support until the handles 46 engage the legs adjacent the ears. At this time, the can is firmly lodged in the container support andcannot be moved upwardly out of the support unless the can is rotated back so that handles 46 are in alignment with the ears 42 and 44. That is to say, once the can is positioned in the support and properly rotated therein, the can cannot be lifted straight out of the support but must be first rotated back to its original freely i-nsertable position.

It will be further seen that the legs 18, 20, 22 and 24 include lower end porti-ons 48 formed either by cutting off the legs at a substantial angle or by attening the` i c-ontainer support to rest substantially against the ground thereby obviating the possibility of anim-als pushing it upwardly out of the support. Of course, it is also possible to design the container support so that the rings 12, 14 and 16 are of such diameter that the can 34 is merely positioned therein and resting on the ground rather than being supported by the legs of the support as mentionedabove. As will be apparent, a major feature of this invention is that the garbage can 34 when wholly positioned within the encompassing contines of support and hasits top substantially coplanar with the top ring 12, thereby eliminating the possibility of the can top 38 being knocked off the can, and therefore it is immaterial whether the can rests on the ground or is snpported by the legs. However, if it is contemplated that relatively heavy material will be contained within the can 34, it may be more practical from a standpoint of Wear and tear on the support 10 for the can to rest on the ground rather than lodge itself within the support.

In order to seal the top of the legs, and in order to provide protection from the rough sharp edges of the leg tops, caps 50 of plastic or other durable semi-rigid material are provided suitably fitted over the tops of the legs. These caps 50 are preferably of such internal diameter that they may be tightly seated and secured on the legs.

The foregoing is considered is illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A container support for a lidded garbage can or the like having laterally projecting handles comprising an openwork frame structure characterized by a plurality of generally circular rings, said rings being horizontally disposed and vertically spaced, decreasing in diameter from the top ring to the bottom ring, and having a common vertical aX-is, a plurality of substantially vertical legs disposed within said rings, each of said legs being fastened to the inner peripheral surfaces of each of said rings, said legs including downwardly convergent longitudinal inner surfaces providing can contacting and supporting surfaces for a readily insertable and removable garbage can, a pair of diametrically opposed outwardly projecting ear means embodied in the uppermost one of said rings defining a pair of inwardly opening recesses therein spaced between adjacent pairs of said legs, said recesses being adapted to comprise the only portion of said uppermost ring providing sufiicient clearance for the laterally projecting handles of the can which is toy be positioned in said frame structure, whereby a can positioned in said support with its handles disposed below said uppermost ring and rotated suciently will be effectively held against displacement from said support.

2. In combination, a-n enclosing, supporting and stayput rack comprising: a horizontal bottom ring of a predetermined inside and outside diameter, a complemental vertically spaced top ring in a plane horizontally above said bottom ring and in alignment therewith and of a diameter greater than the diameter of said bottom ring, and a third intermediate as well as a companion ring located between said top and bottom rings and spaced therefrom and of a prescribed inside and outside diameter proportional and relative to said top and bottom rings, all of said rings having correspondingly constructed interior peripheral surfaces, each peripheral surface provided with circumferentially spaced indentations providing leg accommodating seats, a plurality o-f equidistant circumferentially spaced vertical legs, said legs being situated within the inner peripheral contines of the respective rings and the outer surface portions of said legs being nested in their respectively cooperating seats and being removably bolted in place in said seats, the cross-i section of said legs being suoh that the inner half-portions of the respective legs project radially inwardly of the adjacent encompassing peripheral surfaces of the respective rings, whereby to provide circumferentially spaced support surfaces for abutting exterior faces of the body of said garbage can, said upper ring being provided at diametrically opposite sides with a pair of outstanding substantially U-shaped bends which serve not only as yhandgrips but also as clearance and bypassing ears for handles such as are comm-only provided on diametrically opposite sides of a garbage can.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 and, in combinati-on, a garbage can of an overall depth and height approximately the same as the depth and height of said rack, said garbage can having a body portion tted telescopingly into the rack and having portions thereof residing in contact with the supporting surfaces of said legs, said garbage can being provided at its top with an attachable and detachable lid Ihaving a hand-le, said lid beingsubstantially c-oplanar with the upper surface portion of said upper ring, upper end portions of said legs projecting slightly above the level of the top of said lid, the upper di-ametrically opposite side portions of the body of said can being provided with handgrips, and said handgrips being adapted to pass freely through the clearance spaces provided by said e'ars,"said handgrips being purposely disaligned with the ears to guard against unauthorized displacement of said can.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,162,574 1'1/1915 Craig 248-153 1,326,086 12/11-9 19 `Orm andy 248-311 1,3 82,1115 6/1921 Ohme 248-149 1,794,076 -2/ 193.1 Jablons 248-176 2,260,570 10/1941 John 248-147 2,501,895 3/ 195 0 Gayle 248-146 2,673,053 3/1954 Kilian 248-153 2,717,706 9/1955 Yow et al 214-383 2,952,306 9/1960 Adler 248-18891 X 3,103,742 9/1963 Cruson 29-482 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER SUPPORT FOR A LIDDED GARBAGE CAN OR THE LIKE HAVING LATERALLY PROJECTING HANDLES COMPRISING AN OPENWORK FRAME STRUCTURE CHARACTERIZED BY A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY CIRCULAR RINGS, SAID RINGS BEING HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED AND VERTICALLY SPACED, DECREASING IN DIAMETER FROM THE TOP RING TO THE BOTTOM RING, AND HAVING A COMMON VERTICAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL LEGS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID RINGS, EACH OF SAID LEGS BEING FASTENED TO THE INNER PERIPHERAL SURFACES OF EACH OF SAID RINGS, SAID LEGS INCLUDING DOWNWARDLY CONVERGENT LONGITUDINAL INNER SURFACES PROVIDING CAN CONTACTING AND SUPPORTING SURFACES FOR A READILY INSERTABLE AND REMOVABLE GARBAGE CAN, A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLYOPPOSED OUTWARDLY PROJECTING EAR MEANS EMBODIED IN THE UPPERMOST ONE OF SAID RINGS DEFINING A PAIR OF INWARDLY OPENING RECESSES THEREIN SPACED BETWEEN ADJACENT PAIRS OF SAID LEGS, SAID 